"Life-changing injuries" for a cyclist after hit and run

Thursday 26 April 2018

21-year-old Callum Ferbrache has been sentenced to nine months in prison, for dangerous driving and failing to stop after an accident.

Ferbrache left a cyclist lying in the road unconscious, with blood coming from his head, after he hit him at around 23:00 on 14 October 2017, at Les Gravees.

In what was described as panic, Ferbrache fled the scene immediately after the accident, leaving a taxi driver behind him to get out, help the cyclist, and call the emergency services.

After a series of interviews, Ferbrache admitted to Police he had drunk four pints of lager before starting his drive home from Town that night - he blamed the collision on a cigarette that fell from his mouth and under his leg, and while he looked down to retrieve it, he hit the cyclist.

In a victim impact statement, it was revealed the victim had suffered a broken collarbone and a fractured skull, which later led to a detached retina in one of his eyes and a series of surgeries in Southampton during which he was warned he could go blind. The victim still fears blindness, and now suffers with anxiety over using his bicycle, which has affected his young family and his work life, the court heard.

In his defence, Ferbrache's advocate said he had learning disabilities and was on the autism spectrum - his act of fleeing the scene immediately was put down to panic associated with his aspergers. He had asked his advocate to express his sincere apologies to the court and the victim, adding "nobody was more sorry or remorseful than him[self]".

The following day, Ferbrache took the vehicle he was driving to a local garage to ask if they could repair the dents to the body-work and the shattered windscreen. He was reported to have asked if they could park the vehicle around the back, and if the garage "usually contacted the police". The customer services attendant at the garage reported Ferbrache to the police following this encounter.

Initially he denied his intoxication levels to the police during interview, but when CCTV footage was mentioned along with the level of injury the cyclist had received Ferbrache changed his account and gave a full interview. 

Witnesses said that on the night Ferbrache was driving very dangerously "swerving around the road" and "mounting the curb" ahead of the accident.

"The account of the events are very disturbing to us," Judge Russell Finch said.

"This is a bad incident of its type that could have been much worse. We cannot put the clocks back to help the victim, and the sentence he has received is much worse than any we can pass to you."

Alongside the nine months in prison, Ferbrache was also issued with a seven year driving disqualification.